Sound-reproducing machine



July 16, 1929.

J. a. M. HERKLOTS 2039 SOUND REPRODUCING MACHINE Filed May 25. 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEY WITNESS:

July 16, 1929. HEYRKVLQLTS 1,720,899

SOUND REPRODUCING MACHINE Filed May 23, 1925 ,5 Sheets-$heet 2 7JJMM J @M Her/11o as INVENTOR ATTORNEY WITNESS:

y J. G. M. HERKLOTS 1' SOUND REPRODUCING MACHINE Filed May 23, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 {QFQJQ/NMM Jgjiflfy erl'zazr MENTOR NITNESE'.

ATTORNEY Patented July 16, 1929.

"'UNlT'ED STATES JOHANLTUS. G. HEBKLOTS, OF SAMARANG, JAVA.

' SOUND-BEPRODUCING MACHINE.

Application filed. May .23, 1925. Serial no. 32,423.

This invention relates to sound reproducing devices, particularly to talking machines and has for its object the provision of a novel machine and record for use thereon, theprmcipal feature being that the record 1s 1n the form of a strip having the sound grooves extending longitudinally thereof, the strip being in rollform and hav ng a considerable width. wherebya plurality of sound grooves may be formed therein so that a s ngle strip or film may bear or contain a more'or less elaborate repertoire.

, Animportant and more specific 'obyect 1s the provision of a talking machine so constructed and,arranged as to be used in connection with a recordi'n the form of a strip as above described, the machine embodying meanswhereby the strip may be unreeled from one spool and reeled onto a second spool, the strip passing beneath the reproducer equipped-with-any ordinary or preferred stylus. I

lit is also within the scope of the invent on to provide a machine of this character which may be equipped with a-plurality of sound boxes or reproducers which may 013612116 111 conjunction with independent sound grooves in the strip so that, if desired, one sound groove might contam or produce an accom-.

paniment and another produce the themeof a composition, whereby an attractive and beautiful effect may be obtained. Yet another object is the provision of a machine of this character which embodies a peculiar and novel-arrangement of springor other motors equipped with certain clutch mechanism together with brakesand stop mechanisms.

An additional object is the provision of a record stripand-alsoa machine as indicated which will be comparatively simple and inexpensive in manufacture, easy to operate or control, positive in action, 'eflicient anddurablein service, and a'general'improvement in the art.

With the above andother objects and advantages in view, the invention consists in the deta ls of constructlon to be. hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and illustratedin the accompanying drawings in through one of the brake controlling devices;

and

7 is a detail view of the record strip. F1gure -8 isa view illustrating a fragmentary portion of one of the brake devices. Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 10 designates a suitable cabinet and support for the mechanism constituting my invention, which cabinet has the usual hinged cover 11, motor board 12 and tone chamber 13. Locatedwithin the tone chamber is the'amplifying horn 14 which may be of any ordinary or prefrered construction and which is suitably connected at its inner end to a motor board as shown in Fig. 2.

In carrying out the invention I provide a pair of spring "motors15 and 16 of an ordinary or preferred type having their s afts 15 and 16, respectively, equipped with beveled gears 18 and 19 meshing-with other'beveled gears 20 and 21 on winding shafts 22 and 23 which are suitably journaled through the sides of the cabinet and which are adapted to carry-or be engaged by any suitable crank, not shown, or other equivalent device whereby the shafts may be turned for winding and placing under tension the springs 24'and 25 forming part of the spring motors 15 and 16, respectively.

In actual practice it is intended that the spring 24 be a relatively stiff one while the spring 25 is comparatively weak, the first mentioned s ring being for the purpose of driving the 1m or strip, to be described, and the other or'latter named spring being in tended for the purpose of effecting rewinding thereof subsequently to playing of the selection.

Suitably j ournaled at o posite sides of the cabinet are shafts 26 and 2% which are similar and which carry gears 28 and 29, respectively, which mesh with gears 30 and 31 on countershafts 32 and 33, respectively. The gears 30 and 31 mesh with gears 34 and 35 on the motor shafts 16 and 15*, respectively. Each shaft 26 and 27 carries an ordinary governor mechanism 36 including an ordinary type of flvball mechanism 37 connected with fixed disks 38 slidable along the shafts and ada ted to engage against friction shoes 39 w ich are mounted on a movable sledge and fastened to the sides of the cabinet. Obviously, too

rapid rotation of either shaft will bring the.

friction disks 38 into engagement with the associated shoes for checking the speed. This type of control device is old and well known but is illustrated in order to makethe disclosure complete.

Each shaft 26 and 27 is further equipped pose of normally urging them toward the.

friction disks 40.

Slidable through each lever 42 is a rod 46 having an operating head 47 located outwardly of the lever and spring pressed outwardly by a coil sprin 48 or the like. Each lever is further forme with an elongated slot .49 for permitting movement of the laterally extended end 50 of the rod 46*, and this lateral end is adapted to be engaged with notches 51 in the bracket 44 for the purpose of holding the levers out of engagement with the friction disks 40 when it is desired to have either of the motors operate.

Journaled through the front wall of the cabinet are shafts 52 and 53 carrying pins 54 and 55 and adapted to carry spools designated broadly at 56 and 57, respectively. Suitably splined upon the shafts 26 and 27 are sleeves 58 and 59 formed with notches 60 and 61, respectively, adapted to be engaged with the pins 54 and 55, respectively, for the purpose of locking the shafts 52 and 53 for rotation with the shafts 26 and 27 when such is desired. The sleeves 58 and 59 carry outstanding flanges 62 engaged by forked levers 63 whereby the sleeves may be shifted longitudinally to engage the notches 60 or 61 in the sleeves with the pins 54 and 55 as the case 7 may be. While the sleeves might be guided in any desired manner, they are here represented as formed with elongated slots 64, engaging pins 65 projecting laterally from the shafts 26 and 27.

Each of the spools 56 and 57 include a hub 66 suitably bored out for engagement upon the shaft 52 or the shaft 53 as the case may be, and each shaft is formed with an enlar ement or flange 67 serving as an abutment or the spool thereon so as.to hold it in the proper position. The hub 66 is further formed with a key-way engaging a key or spline 68 so that .53 is slotted as indicated at 70 and projects,

beyond the spool, the projecting ends having pivoted therein, at 71, locking pawls 72 and 72 engaged by leaf springs 73 located within the slots 70. The spring acts to hold the f pawls 72 and 7 2 in a laterally extended position so that the spools cannot accidentally become dislodged. In the present instance the spool in each case is shown as including suitable side plates 7 3 i Suitably mounted on the front of the cabinet is a table or roller-like support 74 located between the two spools 56 and 57. The record used in carrying out my invention consists of a strip 75 of suitable flexible material, metallic or otherwise, provided with a coating or film of any desired nature capable of being inscribed or engraved with the sound grooves indicated at 76. By an inspection of Fig. 7 it will be apparent that a plurality of such sound grooves may be formed in one strip so that a single strip is capable of bearing the records of quite a large number of compositions or selections. In the present instance the sound grooves are represented as being of progressively decreasing lengths so as to provide room for numbers indicated at 77 or indicia referring to the compositions or selections for identification purposes. In actual practice it is probable that one or both of the side plates 7 3 of the spools would be correspondingly inscribed with data or legends giving an indication as to the names of the compositions or selections on the individual strip.-

Suitably mounted above the table or roller 74 is the sound box or reproducer 7 8 carried by a tone arm 79 which extends rearwardly and which connects with the inlet end of the amplifying horn 14 as showh in Fig. 2. This tone arm is also movable vertically in order to enable the sound box to be lifted in adjusting the needle.

In the operation 'of the device, a spool containing a stri on is engaged upon the shaft 53, subsequently to which the free end of the strip is led over the table or roller 74 and connected with the spool 56. The lever 63 associated with the sleeve 59 on the shaft 27 is then moved so that the notch 61 will be outrof engagement with the pin 55, thus permitting the shaft '27 to be idle." y

The lever 63 associated with the'sleeve 58 is then moved so as to engage the notch 60 with the pin 54 so that the shaft 26 will be locked for rotation with the shaft 52. The

with the desired records there-,

cause the motor 16 to operate and drive the shafts 26 and 52 and the spool 56. The strip will then be unwound from the spool 57 and will pass over the table or roller 74 onto the; spool 56. Naturally, the stylus carried by the reproducer 7 8 resting in the desired one A of the sound grooves 76, will result in the reproduction of the selection or composition. After the strip has reached the end it becomes necessary to rewind it, whereupon the lever 63 is shifted to disengage the notch 60 from the pin 54 and the lever 63 associated with the sleeve 59 is shifted to engage the notch 61 with the pin 55, whereupon the brake lever 42 associated with the shaft 27 is released to permit the spring motor 15 to turn the shaft 27 and spool 57. and. consequently rewind the strip. Quite naturally, the reproducer must be mounted so that it can be shifted longitudinally to bring the stylus into engagement with the desired one of the grooves 76. For this reason I have shown the tone arm 79 as including a relatively stationary section 80 and aeslidable section 81 telescoped therein, the slidable section carrying the reproducer.

From the foregoing description and a study'of the drawings, it will be apparent that I have thus provided a machine so constructed and arranged as to utilize a record in the form of a stri wound upon a suitable carrying spool and aving a longitudinally extending sound groove. It is obvious that many advantages are derived from the use of a strip of this character instead of the well known cylinder or disk inasmuch as a large number of'compositions or-selections may beon a single strip and it will consequently require only a few reels of these strips to provide a very extensive repertoire.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it should be understood that I reserve the right to make such changes in the form, construction and arrangement of parts as will not depart from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

-Having thus described the invention, I

claim 1. In atalkin'g machine,

a {pair of independent spring motors, a sha t operatively connected with each spring motor, means for holding either shaft stationary, winding means for each of the motors, a pair of spools adapted to be engaged with the shafts, a flexible strip secured to and wrapped about one spool and formed with longitudinally extending sound grooves said strip being adapted tobe wound onto the other spool, a supporting element located between the spools, a reproducer carrying a stylus adapted to be engaged within a selected sound greove, and means for holding either shaft stationary and permitting rotation of the other.

2. In a sound'reproducing machine, a casing, a pair of spaced parallel shafts freely rotatably'mounted thereon, spools detachably engaged upon said shafts, a record strip carried by the spools and adapted to be wound from one to the other, therecord strip having sound grooyes therein, a support carried by the casing between the spools, a tone .arm carrying a sound box equipped with a stylus engageable within a selected sound groove at a point above said support, other shafts journaled within the casing in end to end relation to said first named shafts, a governor means for controlling the speed of rotation of each of the second named shafts, a brake mechanism for each of the second named shafts, independent motors operatively connected with said second named shafts for driving a selected one, and means for selectively clutching a second named shaft to the adjacent first named shaft and simultaneously making the operative connection between the motor and the associated second named shaft.

3. In a sound reproducing machine, a casing, a air of spaced parallel shafts freely rotatab y mounted thereon, spools detachably engaged upon said shafts, a record strip carried by the spools and adapted to be wound from one to the other, the record strips having sound grooves therein, a support carried by the casing between the spools, a tone arm carrying a sound box equipped with a stylus engageable within a selected sound groove at a-point above said support, other shafts journaled within the casing in end to end relation to said first named shafts, a governor means for controlling the speed of rotation of each of the second named shafts, a brake mechanism for each of the second named shafts, independent motor operatively connected with said second named shafts for driving a selected one, and means for selectively clutching a second named shaft to the adjacent first named shaftsand simultaneously making the operative connection between the motor and the associated second named shafts, said clutching means compristhe second named shafts, and formed with notches, the first named shafts having pins adapted to be engaged by said notches upon longitudinal movement of the sleeves.

4. In a sound reproducing machine, a casing, a pair of spaced parallel shafts freely rotatably mounted thereon, spools detachably engaged upon said shafts, a record strip carried by-the spools and adapted to be wound from one tothe other, the record strip having sound grooves therein, a support carried by the casing between the spools, a tone arm carrying a sound box equipped with a stylus engageable within a selected sound groove at a point above said support, other shafts journaled within the casing in end to end relation to said first named shafts, a

lilifor selectively clutching a second named shaft governor means for controlling the speed to the adjacent first named shaft and simultaneously making the operative connection between the motor and the associated second named shafts, said clutching means comprising sleeves slidahle and non-rotatable upon it the second named shaft and formed with notches, the first named shaft having pins adapted to be engaged by said notches upon longitudinal movement of the sleeves, each sleeve having an outstanding collar thereon, and'a pivoted shifting fork for each sleeve engaging said collar.

- In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

JOHANNUS G. "M. HERKLOTS. 

